Oregon women’s basketball caps magical week with upset of No. 9 UConn

Oregon continued to roll Monday night, taking down No. 9 UConn 72-59 for its second top 10 win in three days.

It marks back-to-back top 10 wins for the Ducks after taking down No. 4 Arizona in overtime on Saturday. Having played all four of last season’s Final Four teams, they are now 2-2.

After the Huskies opened the game on a 10-0 run, Oregon responded with an 18-0 run of their own. They entered halftime up 39-24 and increased that lead to as much as 24 points early in the fourth quarter.

“This was an enormous weekend,” UO coach Kelly Graves said. “This hopefully puts us back in the national discussion as a team to be reckoned with.”

The Ducks have struggled this season with injuries, but as players have returned, the team has begun to find its form. Back-to-back top 10 wins should vault them into the Top 25.

Also entering the national discussion is Te-Hina Paopao, who scored 22 points against UConn, adding eight rebounds and three assists. It’s the sophomore guard’s third-straight 20-point game. In her five games since returning from injury, she has averaged 18.6 points per game.

Another day, another 20-point game for @tehinapaopao12 👊

▪️ 3rd straight 20-point game
▪️ 18.6 PPG in 5 games since returning from injury #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/Sv8iO2kHEm

— Oregon Women’s Basketball (@OregonWBB) January 18, 2022

Sedona Prince added 14 points for the Ducks as the bench combined for 28 points to UConn’s four.

Carolina Ducharme and Olivia Ododa-Nelson combined for 39 of the Huskies’ 59 points. Ducharme had a team-high 22 points, while Ododa-Nelson added 17 points and eight assists.

Oregon is back in action on Friday against Washington, while UConn will look to rebound against Seton Hall.